Column: Why time is right to get our beach bodies

The answer really is simple - do something! It doesn’t matter how clever you are with your words, or how well you can convince yourself you’ll start after Friday night’s party. Do something now. In fact, right now.

There’s never been a better time to improve your health and wellbeing than right now. You don’t need to set yourself unrealistic targets, you don’t need to starve or go tee-total. All that you need to do is to create yourself some good habits to replace the habits that have built up over your lifetime.

This is why it’s so difficult to start something new. Basically, it is going to feel different, it may affect your moods, you may even feel hungry if you cut out too much food.

But we also have people at the other end of the spectrum who have maybe started to feel fat even when they’re not. These are people who look in the mirror and see something looking back at them they don’t like.

Why is it nearly everyone who looks at themselves in the mirror thinks they should look better? Why do we punish ourselves so much? Do we enjoy being the martyr?

The truth is, regardless of whether you’re overweight, underweight, untoned, unfit, it’s all down to you. You have to be responsible for yourself. No one is going to do it for you. Just make a decision you’re going to make a small change to your lifestyle and stick to it. Develop that new good habit. We can all make our lives a little bit better.

You won’t get it from watching reality TV, Facebook or Twitter. You’ll get better by doing. And, apart from the better looks, the feeling healthier and buying yourself some new clothes. One of the greatest benefits of this is you’ll have succeeded in something. It doesn’t matter how small it is, your confidence will have grown because of your success.

You’ll stand just a little bit taller, you’ll have a smile on your face, and you’ll begin to believe maybe you could make some further changes that may have previously been beyond you. Most will run away from what they don’t want - pain, anguish, weight and loneliness.

But what we should do is run towards how we want to see ourselves. Focus on how you want to be and not on how you see yourself right now. It will make your journey just that little bit easier. I have started to think about what we can all do together to get better together. If you have any ideas, I’d love to hear from you – www.balancedcoaching.co.uk.